Deirdre Quinn, PhD, MSc, MLitt

(she/her)
Research Health Scientist, VA Pittsburgh Center for Health Equity Research & Promotion

Deirdre A. Quinn, PhD, MSc, MLitt, is a Research Health Scientist and Core Investigator at the Center for Health Equity Research & Promotion (CHERP) at VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System and an Assistant Professor of Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh. She received her PhD in family science from the University of Maryland School of Public Health, where her research explored individual-, family-, and community-level influences on sexual and reproductive health. Dr. Quinn's early graduate work aimed to better inform interventions to reduce unintended teen pregnancy by exploring the role of social support in teen mothers' maintenance of contraception over time and identifying relational factors that influence teen mothers' postpartum contraceptive choices. Her dissertation examined how emerging adults' religiosity, attitudes about sex, and sexual risk and protective behaviors are associated with early-life family modeling of religiosity and family communication about sex. Since beginning her postdoctoral fellowship in women's health at CHERP, Dr. Quinn has focused her research lens on advancing the quality and equity of reproductive health and healthcare for women Veterans. She has been awarded two competitive pilot awards: the first to examine severe maternal morbidity and maternal mortality among women Veterans, and the second to assess the feasibility and acceptability of pharmacist-led hormonal contraceptive prescribing and 12-month contraceptive dispensing at VA. When she isn't working, Dr. Quinn can most likely be found reading or baking!

Education & Training
PhD, Family Science, University of Maryland School of Public Health, 2017
MSc, Gender & Social Policy, The London School of Economics and Political Science, 2006
MLitt, Creative Writing, University of St. Andrews, 2004
BA, English: Writing & Rhetoric, Georgetown University, 2003
Awards
2020, Outstanding Paper Award, Second Place, National Council on Family Relations, Families & Health Section
2020, Best Poster Award, Health Services Research & Development, VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System Research Week Young Investigator Contest
2019, Best Poster Award, Health Policy Dissemination and Implementation Science Track, AcademyHealth Annual Meeting on the Science of Dissemination & Implementation in Health
2017, Outstanding Paper Award, National Council on Family Relations, Religion, Spirituality, and Family Section
2016-2017, U.S. Policy Communication Fellow, Population Reference Bureau
Representative Publications

Quinn, D.A., Mor, M.K., Sileanu, F.S., Zhao, X., Callegari, L., Frayne, D., Zephyrin, L., & Borrero, S. (2021). Measuring women Veterans’ prepregnancy wellness using Veterans Administration Health Record Data. Obstetrics & Gynecology, 137(3): 471-480. doi: 10.1097/AOG.0000000000004293. PMID: 33543894.

Quinn, D.A., Sileanu, F., Zhao, X., Mor, M.K., Judge-Golden, C., Callegari, L., & Borrero, S. (2020). History of unintended pregnancy and patterns of contraceptive use among racial and ethnic minority women Veterans. American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology, 223(4).  doi:10.1016/j.ajog.2020.02.042. PMID: 32142832. PMCID: 7528209.

Quinn, D.A. and Lewin, A. (2020). Family-level factors associated with emerging adults’ HPV vaccine behavior. Journal of American College Health, 68(5): 528-535. doi:10.1080/07448481.2019.1583240. PMID: 30908148.

Quinn, D.A. and Lewin, A. (2019). Family religiosity, parental monitoring, and emerging adults’ sexual behavior. Religions, 10(2). doi: 10.3390/rel10020114. 

Quinn, D.A., Mitchell, S.J., & Lewin, A. (2017). The role of teen mothers’ support relationships in maintenance of contraceptive use. Journal of Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology, 30(1): 35-40. doi: 10.1016/j.jpag.2016.08.008. PMID: 27565409.